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A review by lesserjoke
The Clockwork Dynasty by Daniel H. Wilson
4.0
I'm not usually keen on the steampunk genre, but thankfully the mechanical 'avtomats' in this novel are less like clanking robots and more like Anne Rice's vampires: functionally immortal humanoids whose origins are shrouded in mystery and who live among us in secret. In fact, Rice's Interview with the Vampire seems the ideal comparison point for this story, right down to the eighteenth-century setting and the decades-old creature who chafes at her physical appearance as a little girl.
Despite these similarities, The Clockwork Dynasty tells a wholly original story, and I enjoyed it immensely. Author Daniel H. Wilson alternates each chapter's perspective, so that we get to see both an avtomat's history unfolding in the past and a human woman getting drawn into his world in the present. Both narratives are engaging, although the heroine does sometimes feel more like a YA teenager than the postdoc scientist she's supposed to be. But that's a minor issue for a story as great as this. It's a standalone work for now, but I'd love to read further adventures with these characters.
Despite these similarities, The Clockwork Dynasty tells a wholly original story, and I enjoyed it immensely. Author Daniel H. Wilson alternates each chapter's perspective, so that we get to see both an avtomat's history unfolding in the past and a human woman getting drawn into his world in the present. Both narratives are engaging, although the heroine does sometimes feel more like a YA teenager than the postdoc scientist she's supposed to be. But that's a minor issue for a story as great as this. It's a standalone work for now, but I'd love to read further adventures with these characters.